I had the honor of being invited to participate in the Banff Forum this year to share some thoughts around citizen engagement and how technology is impacting democracy. Banff is one of my favorite places, it is just so stunningly beautiful.

Fireside Chat about Privacy

I hosted a fireside chat (there was an actual fire, it was hot, lol) and discussed some of the implications of living an increasingly online life. I had a really great time during this session because it was informal and intimate with about 20-35 people coming in an out as the discussion progressed. We spoke about the future of privacy and what it would mean to live in a world where most of your actions are being analyzed, tracked and recorded.

Personally, I believe that in order to understand how some of these technological changes are going to affect us we really need to understand how our perceptions of our online identity are evolving and changing. You can read some of my initial thoughts on the evolution of web personas here. Whenever a new social network or service comes out I always find myself returning to the anchor of online identity to evaluate how it’s going to impact our lives.

Panel on Citizen Engagement:

I also participated on a panel the next afternoon about citizen engagement. Here’s the session description from the programme:
The inaugural Banff Forum had a strong focus on citizen engagement. While several Forum participants went on to more prominent roles in the public arena, for the past decade, most indicators of civic engagement in Canada have been moving sideways at best. Increasingly, politicians and civic groups have looked to social media as a means for mobilizing the electorate around  issues and political action. This trend has produced a variety of results and raised a number of important questions. Within a pluralist democracy such as Canada, what are a citizen’s responsibilities and obligations? How can these best be fulfilled? What is the role of emerging technology in our public life? Is voter participation the ultimate test, or simply one of many ways, to measure civic engagement?

Moderator:

Scott BUTLER Director, Policy and Research, Ontario Good Roads Association

Speakers:

• Rahaf HARFOUSH, Digital Strategist and Author, Red Thread Inc.
• Mark KINGWELL, Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto
• Tony LEIGHTON, President, Fix Inc.Précis

Tony had such an inspirational story about how he rallied his local community to oust some city councillors who were not respecting his town’s historical heritage. It always comes back to local change. Local change needs to take place as a pre-cursor to any global shift in thinking.

Mark, was brilliant as usual. I’m such a fan of his work and it was so great to meet him in person. It’s always refreshing to meet someone who is so down to earth and laid-back despite being tremendously accomplished. Scott, our moderator was just amazing, we hit it off instantly and he kept me laughing for the entire duration of the Forum.

@Nenshi = Awesome

I had the chance to meet Calgary’s Mayor Nenshi, North America’s first Muslim Mayor! I thought it was pretty ironic that conservative Calgary elects a minority mayor, and liberal Toronto elects…Rob Ford.  Mayor Nenshi spoke at length about how important it was to build open dialogues with members of the community and how he believed that most people want to participate in making their city a better place. It was so great to hear his various initiatives to bring increased transparency and accountability to municipal government. I hope we get more political leaders like him!  

All in all it was a fantastic trip and the icing on the cake was visiting the local Banff Hot Springs which were just amazing (pictured below). There is nothing like sitting in a giant outdoor pool full of steaming water, surrounded by snow topped mountains and forests. I think next year we should have all of the sessions inside the springs.

ps: We also visited the Oil Sands up at Fort McMurray, but that’s an entirely separate post that I will put up once I get some of Jesse’s awesome pictures!

In September, I had the opportunity to speak at Accenture’s Women’s Leadership Forum, in Menlo Park, California. The subject was re-invention, something I know a little bit about, lol. While I normally hate talking about myself (I’d much prefer to share the cool research I’m unearthing) it was really fun to talk about the journey and lessons learned in following my path thus far. The women in the room were just amazing. Women from all walks of life who had accomplished great things in their career were coming together to share what they had learned from their own journeys. I love conferences where I learn so much that I leave feeling inspired and full of ideas.

Here is some of what I shared:

Be True to Your Own North

My father, a very wise man (@nabilharfoush) once told me that your heart is like a compass. It might not necessarily know the end destination, but it ALWAYS knows if you’re going in the right direction. “If you start feeling that unhappiness in your gut, that’s a sign that you’ve moved away from your own “North,” that you’re going in the wrong direction,” he said to me so long ago. “If that happens you just need to readjust what you’re doing until it feels right again.”  I’ve carried those words around with me ever since.

Follow the Fear

I get this special feeling when I’m doing what I love. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I get really excited and I’ve always followed that feeling even if it means jumping off into the unknown. That feeling has led me to my biggest milestones: moving to Chicago to work on a Presidential campaign, writing a book, speaking in front of an audience, moving to Switzerland, etc. I was petrified at each one of those decision points, but that feeling gave me the courage (or blind faith) to jump and hope for the best. Each time it’s been right.

I think if you’re not doing something that scares you, you’re not challenging yourself. Right now, my biggest fear is the book. Writing is such an exposing, gut-wrenching experience and the fact that I just love it so much makes me think that I need some type of psychiatric help, lol. I’ve always been a writer, I have this never ending compulsion to jot things down on paper no matter where I am or what I’m doing. It’s scary, but I’m muddling through.

Words with Intent

I’m a big believer that the difference between a dream and a goal is a plan. So if you want to make a plan the first think you need to do is move that dream into reality. One of the easiest ways is to speak as though it is already happening. For example, before I even had an idea of what ArchiTech (the book) was going to be about, I was thinking that I want to start writing in July. When people asked me what my summer plans were, I would reply “I’m going to be writing my second book in July.” For some reason, this really works, and it prodded me to take a bunch of steps and a few months later, there I was!

Plan in Small Steps

Finally, I’m a big fan of plans. The trick for me is to make the steps small enough that you accumulate little victories so frequently you don’t even notice you’re tackling the big things! This has helped me in everything from writing a chapter to running 5k. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to start off with a bang. You’ll tell yourself you’re going to write 10,000 words a day! Every day! Even on the weekends! Then you’ll fail. (At least if you’re me.) I’ve learned my lesson and now I start off small and work diligently towards a goal.

I had such a wonderful time in California. Jesse and were able to spend a few days relaxing at the gorgeous Rosewood Sand Hill Resort and Spa and then spending a weekend in San Francisco with friends where we day-tripped to Napa. It was so much fun! (You can see some of my pics over on my tumblr.)